Martha Argerich: Matthew Deming on the "Greatest Living Pianist"

I am embarrassed to admit as a classical musician that I only discovered the universally acclaimed talent of pianist Martha Argerich during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. For those of us who leaned in a bit too far on our daily social media use, scrolling on Instagram for inspiration and well, even boredom, introduced me to some outstanding musical artists and their recordings.

Martha Argerich (Photo by Presidencia de la Nación Argentina)

For this article, I chose Argerich because of the vast catalogue of recordings and videos available, in addition to her many interviews throughout the years that offer a window into her artistic process. Through this lens, listeners almost get to see her mature as an artist in a way that wasn’t available prior to the accessibility of the internet.

Argerich was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1941. Her father’s family had come to Argentina in the 18th century from Catalonia, Spain and her mother’s side had immigrated from the Russian Empire toward the end of the 19th century. Even as a child, it was clear that she was a remarkable talent. She started lessons at three years old; only a few years later she was studying with Italian pianist Vincenzo Scaramuzza. One of her first major performances was at the age of eight, when she played Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1. In 1955 Argerich left for Europe to study with Friedrich Gulda, the great Austrian pianist and composer.

It didn’t take long for notable musicians in Europe to acknowledge her extraordinary artistic abilities and at 16, Argerich won the prestigious Geneva International Music Competition as well as the Ferruccio Busoni International Competition. At 19, she made her first professional recording including works by Chopin, Brahms, Liszt, Ravel and Prokofiev. She did manage to work with pianist Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, but only for a few lessons, which discouraged her, and she for a short time considered giving up the piano entirely. Thankfully she did not, and rather went on to further success, winning the 7th International Chopin Piano Competition in 1965.

Argerich’s list of accomplishments goes on and on: She received Grammy Awards in 2005 and 2006, Kennedy Center Honors in 2016, and even the Classic Brit Award for Female Artist in 2000, to name a few. I am not entirely certain, but I think the very first video I found of her was playing the Prokofiev Concerto No. 3 in 2007. Her technique is just flawless—she plays with such command and power, but also such nuance and subtlety. One of her early recordings is from after her Chopin Competition win in 1965. Her version of Chopin’s Sonata No. 3 is fiery, spontaneous and filled with Polish spirit.

In 1984 Argerich released her wonderful recording of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3, through Deutsche Grammophon. Reviews praised her and the conductors’ takes on these pieces as being “richly romantic” with “exhilarating verve and aristocratic eloquence.” 

It has been said that as an artist, Argerich has felt better on stage collaborating with other artists rather than just solo piano, preferring to focus her repertoire with concertos, and chamber music with sonatas. She regularly played and recorded with Nelson Freire, Alexandre Rabinovitch, Mischa Maisky and Daniel Barenboim. Still an active performer, predominantly in Europe, you can still listen and watch her play in some of Europe’s greatest music halls.

I have promised myself that I would find a way to see her while she is still playing at such a high level, but I shouldn’t wait too much longer as she is in her 80s. If you are not someone who grew up with classical music, or have yet to experience Argerich’s incredible contribution to classical music, I strongly recommend that you go down the Youtube rabbit hole and get to know her.

I find Argerich’s playing to be utterly captivating. She seems to be able to play anything, no matter the difficulty, as if gliding across the keyboard. However, it isn’t just the technical ability here… you can see on her face that she is completely engrossed in the music, the passion, the sorrow. It’s something that you must experience for yourself, and you will hopefully, as I did, become an instant fan.